Watch Dogs High School
by bluerk9
Summary: Aiden Pearce moves with his family to San Francisco. As he tries to adjust to the new high school he's in as a senior, he meets a girl named Clara Lille. Throughout the year, they form a strong friendship, but will it become more than that? Or will drama and jealousy stand in their way?
1. Prologue

**Aiden's P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe we were moving again.

At first, mom took me and my sister, Nicky, away from Belfast in order to escape dad because she always thought he was a bad influence on us, including me. Now we're leaving Chicago to go all the way down to San Francisco because mom thinks Chicago is getting too dark for us.

I know she's trying to prevent me from becoming like dad. He'd get involved with some ugly shit, but it was always about protecting us. My mom didn't know that I've already gotten involved in fights and tough crowds. Our neighborhood was rough, so I did it to protect my family. I guess I was kind of like my dad.

Anyway, I was almost done packing and to be honest, I was a little pissed off, but at the same time it was predictable. Mom was always crazy about keeping us safe. I'd call her... overprotective.

Before we knew it, we were in the car. Nicky was crying her eyes out and I couldn't blame her. She's gotten to know this city up and down so of course she's gotten attached to it. And me? I guess I'll miss this place too. I've gotten to know quite a few good people, and a few bad ones too. Regardless, this place would always be our home.

As we were leaving, I gazed out the window looking at building after building. Lots of them looked familiar. The Ambrose Theatre for one, where Nicky and I used to watch movies. Sometimes I'd even go there with the idiots I called friends. As much as they got on my nerves, I'd miss them too.

The car ride was mostly silent, well except for Nicky's sobbing, so I put my earbuds in.

It took us a day or two to get there, but once we arrived, I quickly observed the city. This place felt a bit more...light hearted than Chicago and I also heard it doesn't snow here so it'll probably take some adjusting. Mom parked in front of a two story house.

"Well we're here," she said in the most enthusiastic way possible.

I guess this was our new home. Once we got inside, Nicky and I found our own rooms so there really was no arguement about it.

As I was unpacking, I thought about how I'd get adjusted to this place. I would definitely be going to a new school, but it was my last year so I had to make it count. Right?

I don't think mom realizes that moving here won't protect us from danger. I know that because there were shady people in Chicago and it's probably the same here too. Hell, there's crazy people everywhere.

Days went by and mom had finally dragged us out of the house to go to some hot spots around the city since we haven't really gone anywhere this last August before school was supposed to start again.

We looked at different kinds of artwork painted on the walls around the city, including people who even painted their whole bodies. There were sculptures, beaches, some guy popping out of the bushes and scaring the fuck out of all of us.

I had to say this place was...energetic and there was a shit ton of people around. I guess that's how it is living in the most populated state in the U.S. I even caught Nicky at one point admiring some of the viewpoints.

"Wow..." she'd mutter if she stumbled across one that caught her eye. Mom of course took photos to save to her gallery. I didn't really care much for the city, but it felt nice to get out of the house for once.

When we got home, I was exhausted from all the walking and crashed into bed only managing to get one of my shoes off. I sighed out of exhaustion.

I hope she wouldn't be doing this everyday. I don't think I can handle this, but I can at least handle school when it starts.

Right?


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**Okay so just to be clear, this story will have a lot of drama and romance in it. If you're into that kind of thing, go ahead and read. This is something different than from what I usually write so feel free to give critcism. Anyways enjoy!**

* * *

 **Aiden's P.O.V.**

"Okay. School is starting back up tomorrow and I got you two school supplies. Now I want you both on your best behavior. Including you, young man," mom eyed me suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes. "I know, mom."

"Don't get smart with me. At least Nicole listens."

Nicky stuck her tongue out at me, mocking me like she always did. I sighed and tried to ignore her.

"Now you two be nice. I expect to know how your days went after school tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes, mom," Nicky said sweetly still trying to show off in front me.

Alright. Go ahead and keep playing as the golden child.

"And remember I love you both."

She hugged both of us and held us for a little too long before finally letting go.

"I love you too mom," I say trying to make her a little less suspicious of me. It worked because she gave me a warm smile afterward. I gave Nicky a smug look and she only rolled her eyes and turned away.

After that, I went to bed. I thought about having to go to a new school tomorrow and I had to admit I was a little anxious, but at the same time, I just wanted to get it over with.

The next morning, I was woken at 6:00 AM from none other than my sister.

"Aiden, wake up." She shook me.

"What do you want, Nik?" I muttered while rubbing my eyes.

"We gotta get ready for school. Mom said to wake you up early."

She sounded a little too energetic this early in the morning. I mean she's still in middle school for Christ's sake.

Damn, middle school sucked.

I sighed still feeling sleepy and now slightly grumpy.

"Just tell mom I'll be ready. I need to sleep for five more minutes. Maybe ten."

"Um, no. Mom wants you up now and plus, you snore like a bear."

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Just...get out of my room and I'll be ready."

"Okay, but if mom has to pull you out of bed, I'll laugh."

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Leave."

She giggled before running away. It took a lot of willpower, but I managed to get my ass out of bed and get ready.

I threw on a dark colored shirt, some jeans and a brown leather jacket. I brushed my teeth and gave my hair a quick comb before tossing my bookbag over my shoulder.

I headed out to the kitchen to grab something to eat and of course I found Nicky sneaking into the box of chocolate donuts while mom wasn't around. I smirked and began tip toeing behind her. Once I got close enough, I grabbed a hold of her shoulders.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I yelled.

Nicky jumped and let out a loud squeek. She turned to me with wide eyes as if she had just witnessed a murder. I couldn't hold back and I started laughing.

"What the fuck, Aiden!" She put a hand on her chest while breathing heavily.

I was laughing so hard, my stomach started burning.

"So much for your diet plan that you kept bragging about," I said between laughs.

"Urgh! Get out of here!"

"Make me."

She attempted to hit me but I was quick to back away. I was ready for a chase.

"You two are already fighting?" Mom's voice rang out and we froze. She was glaring at the two of us with her arms crossed, expecting an explanation.

"He scared me to death!" She pointed at me.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "She was digging into the chocolate donuts."

Mom sighs exasperatedly. "We don't have time for this. You two are going to be late now let's go."

I grabbed a donut before we headed out. Much to Nicky's dismay, mom had dropped me off first because the high school was closer.

Mom said her goodbyes before driving off. I wasn't too pleased to be going to school again, let alone a new school, but there was no turning back now.

I took out my schedule and went inside the building. I was surrounded by people I've never met before and it felt so strange, but I wasn't interested in talking to anyone. I just wanted to get through my classes and let this day be over with.

Okay, so my first class was math. Great. I nearly got lost until I found the classroom. I sat down and once the teacher came in, the bell rang and she began talking about class rules and all that shit.

She seemed too...enthusiatic and I knew right then and there, she'd be one of those teachers.

Throughout the class period though, there was this one kid that talked a lot. He looked chinese and he was constantly talking to these other kids during class. He even got smart towards the teacher once she told him to be quiet.

I'm surprised she didn't beat his ass with a ruler.

What made this worse was that he was sitting right next to me and he just wouldn't shut up.

Thankfully, class was over and I was already heading to 2nd period. Suddenly, I felt my books being knocked out of my hands.

"Move it, bitch boy."

I furrowed my brows as I turned to see some guy wearing a blue electronic mask and a black hoodie. He didn't even spare me a single glance before walking away.

What the fuck?

Who the hell was that guy? It didn't matter, however I clenched my fists, but I fought the urge to chase after that guy and beat his ass. The last thing I needed was to be sent home on my first day.

I kept it together and I picked up my binders and books before heading to second period. I was almost there until someone had to cut a corner and run into me. It was a punk rock looking girl who had stumbled right into me causing her to fall backwards onto the floor. She must have been in a rush.

I was already frustrated from having my shit knocked out of my hand by some douchebag, this was the last thing I needed.

"Watch where the fuck you're going," I said out of pure irritation while looking down at her.

She just stared up at me through her ice blue eyes with furrowed brows as if I was the biggest asshole in the world.

I huffed before stomping away. I was too blinded by anger to even process what just happened.

I was almost late, but I managed to arrive on time to class just before the bell rang. Throughout the class period, I started thinking about what just happened. Matter of fact I started to feel bad.

Jesus, I was an asshole.

That girl didn't deserve to get yelled at. She could have been new like me or she was just simply trying to find her class. I gotta apologize to her next time I see her.

I went through the next few classes not really paying attention to what the teachers were saying, and then fifth period came, which was art.

"Alright youngins, my name's Mr. Kenney, but you all can call me T-Bone. Most of my drop outs call me that."

I knew most of my teachers were pretty boring, but this guy almost looked like a hippie dressed in hipster clothing. He had dreadlocks that went down to his shoulders and a long beard with a nose ring. He had a southern accent too and he sounded almost surly.

"Now do I really have to tell yall how to operate? I mean you're seniors for Christ's sake. Don't skip class, don't be tardy, ask me if you need to be somewhere, blah blah blah. Here's the syllabus."

Straight to the point. I like it. He began to hand each of us a syllabus and call roll until we heard the door open.

It was that girl.

She stood awkwardly while people stared at her. The teacher AKA T-bone (I guess I'm a future drop out) saw her too.

She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I'm late." She had a french accent. "It was an emergency."

He waved her off.

"Eh, you're fine. It's the first day. Take a seat right here." He pointed towards the empty seat next to mine.

She saw me and I knew she remembered what happened this morning. She tried to play it off as she set her bag down and sat next to me.

"And what's your name?"

"Clara."

I processed the name. It sounded nice.

"Clara...ah here you are." He checked her name off.

He went on to tell us that we had the rest of class to ourselves. Well that was quick.

It felt awkward sitting next to the girl I told off this morning. I looked over at her and took the chance to study her.

Her hair was jet black and she had half shaved wavy hair that went down to her shoulders. She had piercings on her face, one on her chin and two more on her cheeks. She looked to be goth from her eye shadow and her leather jacket she was wearing; however, her lips were a bright pink color.

I had to apologize to her, but she was ignoring me by looking at her phone. I took a deep breath before reaching out and tapping her shoulder. She turned to me and gave me a cold look.

"What?" She hissed.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. I was just pissed off about something. Some guy knocked my stuff out of my hands and when I bumped into you, I didn't know what came over me. I...really do apologize," I scratched the back of my neck.

She was silent for a moment and took a deep breath.

"It's okay, I guess. You said someone knocked stuff out of your hand. Anyone I know?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know who he was. He was wearing some stupid blue electronic mask."

"Oh I know who you're talking about. He's a popular DJ here and he's a real asshole to people that aren't in his clique. He goes by the name Defalt, but I like to call him Defect...I'm so lame I'm sorry."

"No, no that's actually pretty good," I smirked.

"Really? I always thought it was kind of stupid."

"No, it's not. That word probably suits him."

She studied me and managed to work up a small smile.

"What's your name? I've never seen you around here before."

"That's because I'm new. My name's Aiden."

She smirks, "Clara."

She extends her hand out and I gladly shook it.

"Welcome to our school. Have you met anybody else or just me?"

I shook my head, "No, just you."

She nods. "Are you originally from here?"

"No. I came all the way from Chicago."

"Oh, Chicago. I always wanted to go there. I hear it gets snowy there during the winter and it never does here. I've always wanted to be in the snow at least for one day."

I furrowed my brows. "You've never experienced being in the snow? Not even a flurry?"

She shook her head.

"Maybe I can take you over there some day," I sort of joked but a part of me felt like it wouldn't be in the future.

"Hm...I think I'd like that."

"Yeah."

We were silent for a moment before she spoke again. "You should sit with me at lunch. I have a group of friends I sit with, but don't worry there's guys you can talk to. We've got room for one more."

I chuckled. "I'll sit with you, but please don't tell me one of your friends is an obnoxious chinese guy."

She laughs. "So you've run into him, huh? Of course he doesn't sit with us. You could call my group of friends...geeks. Sort of."

"Just make sure they don't get on my nerves."

"Oh they won't. Most of them are friendly."

"Most?"

"Well there is one and he's a bit energetic. He wears a mask similar to Defalt's but he calls himself Wrench. He's got a similar sense of style as mine, the rock look. Don't worry, he isn't as bad as Defect."

I chuckled. "I hope you're right."

Fifth period ended and I walked with Clara to lunch. Once we got our crappy cafeteria food, Clara lead me to a table filled with mostly guys and a single girl.

"Guys, someone new is going to be sitting with us today. He just moved here so play nice. His name is Aiden."

They all studied me, especially the guy with the mask. He looked like a war machine. His eyes would change emoticons depending on his expression.

What is up with this school?

"So you brought an outsider...," the guy who I was guessing was Wrench said skeptically.

"Relax, Wrench. Come sit down," the girl sitting across from Wrench who was wearing a purple scarf over her head and an oversized sweatshirt said.

Clara sat beside Wrench and patted the empty space next to her.

"Come on, it's fine." Clara reassured me.

I took a deep breath before sitting down beside her. Something about her accent was kind of soothing, like I could listen to it all day.

The people at the table were a little quiet and it began to feel awkward.

"Well, don't just sit there. Introduce yourselves," Clara urged them.

The girl was the first to speak, "I'm Sitara, this hipster beside me is Marcus," she points towards the black guy sitting beside her wearing geeky glasses.

"I ain't no hipster," he didn't look amused.

"The name's Horatio," another black guy wearing a dark hoodie, who sat next to Marcus, introduced himself.

"As you know already, this is Wrench," Clara gestures towards the guy in the mask, which I found idiotic.

"And this sweet boy is Josh," Sitara places her hand on the boy sitting to her left wearing a green hoodie and gave him a light shake.

"Hi," he looked at me almost timidly as he waved to me

It felt a little weird at first sitting with a group of people I didn't know, but I'd eventually get used to them.

"What up, losers," I heard a somewhat familiar voice come from behind me.

"Oh no, not Defalt," Marcus rolls his eyes.

That's when I saw him.

He was wearing that stupid blue mask again and he was surrounded by three different girls, all of them wearing skimpy clothing and their faces caked with makeup.

Jesus, they looked like they were planning to assassinate batman.

"Well if it isn't the little dweebs. Shame you guys won't get anywhere."

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Clara steps in.

Defalt paused and turned to her.

"Well don't you?" He replied back. "I mean a girl as pretty as you shouldn't be wasting your time with these douchebags. You are more than welcome to be a part of my group. Afterall, I wouldn't mind a foursome."

Clara looked shocked and appalled. I'm not sure what came over me after he said that, but I quickly stood up. I already had enough of this asshole.

"Do you want to get your ass beat?"

Clara's group of friends looked at me a little surprised, but also pleased.

"Oh, and you are?"

"The guy that's gonna be ripping that mask off your face if you don't leave right now," I warned.

"I will gladly join you," Wrench stood up also. "I have a sledge hammer in a separate bag," he whispered to me while giving me a small wink.

I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not, but that didn't matter right now.

Defalt crossed his arms "Wow, I'm so afraid. What are you, the new guy? You look like someone who came straight out of the streets." The girl giggled like idiots after he spoke.

I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I have."

Defalt grew silent and studied me for a moment. I waited for him to say something stupid again, but he only threw back his head and started laughing almost like a maniac.

If only he knew I was serious.

"Ah, you're funny. I'm not gonna waste anymore time with you weasels." He then turned his head to Clara. "And please think about my offer."

"In your dreams," she scoffed.

I watched as he walked away with his group of female clowns, resisting the urge to chase after him.

Once he was out of sight, I slowly sat back down and let out a small huff. Wrench sat back down too.

"Damn, I like you already," Sitara smirked while looking in my direction.

"Agreed," Horatio said.

Everyone seemed to agree. I guess I was part of the group now.

Throughout the lunch period, I would occasionally catch Clara giving me a few glances before quickly turning away. I knew why she was looking towards my direction. Probably because of my sudden outburst at Defalt. Did I scare her? I hoped not.

After lunch, I went to my last couple of periods which were health and science and sadly Clara wasn't in any of them so I was on my own.

When I got home finally, I immediately dropped my bookbag and crashed onto the couch. I guess I was getting used to this new house because I wasn't feeling as homesick as I did before.

I found the remote and switched on the TV. Within two minutes, Nicky strolled in.

"Hello, big brother," she greeted me while standing in front of the TV.

I sighed. "What do you want now, Nik?"

"Well that's no way to greet your sister," my mom came in as well.

Great.

"So, tell me about your first day. Nicky told me her's was pretty good."

Of course she did.

"Well?" Mom said.

"It was...okay," I shrugged.

"Just okay?"

"Yeah, mom."

Mom placed her hands on her hips and eyed me skeptically.

"Did anything happen?"

"Nothing really. Just a bunch of teachers handed me a syllabus for you to sign."

"Okay. Well have you met anyone new?"

"Uh...yeah I have."

"Who?" Mom looked intrigued. I could tell Nicky was listening too.

"Her name's Clara and she let me sit with her lunch."

Mom gasps. "My son has met a girl?"

"Yeah right, like any girl would wanna be near him," Nicky snickers.

"It's not like that," I chuckled. "Well I...ran into her in the hallway and I kinda snapped at her." I scratched the back of my neck.

"What do you mean you snapped at her?" Nicky glared at me.

"Before I ran into her, some guy smacked my books out of my hands and I took it out on her. I didn't mean to though and I apologized to her later on. She said it was okay and...we became friends."

"I can't believe it," mom was still in shock. "Maybe this is working out for you. Perhaps you can bring her here and I can meet her."

"Why are you guys acting like this? I only mentioned that she was a girl and you two start freaking out."

"Mom's freaking out, not me," Nicky said.

"Uh huh. Anyway, she's a just a friend."

"Okay. Whatever you say, but I want to see the paperwork that your teacher's gave you," mom says.

"Wow, I never thought you'd be eager to get paperwork."

"Just give them to me before you forget to do it like you usually do."

I pulled out my papers and handed them to her. I retreated to my room shortly after. I shrugged my jacket off before crashing into bed. Today was okay I guess, regardless of running into an asshole. I still made a friend. Of course it'll still take me a while to get used to the new school.

Overall, today wasn't too bad.


	3. Chapter 2: Clara's Story

**Clara's P.O.V.**

(The next day)

"So what do you think of Aiden?" Sitara asked me while fiddling with her black and green checkered bracelet.

We were in english class, first period, and we got done 15 minutes early so we were just doing whatever we wanted. As always, Marcus and Wrench were goofing off like they usually did.

I turned to Sitara who looked eager to hear what I had to say.

"What do you mean?" I answered.

"I think you know what I mean."

I roll my eyes. "Sitar, it isn't like that."

"I call bullshit," she smirks.

"Seriously? I just met him yesterday. I'm not interested."

Sitara crossed her arms, "Hm...so you wouldn't mind if I...took a go at him?"

I chuckle. "You plan to make a move on him?"

"Why not? He is kind of cute afterall."

She wasn't wrong. As much as I hated to admit it, I did find him mysterious yet attractive at the same time. Damn, now Sitara was making me a little, dare I say it, jealous. But I refused to show it. I turned away and shrugged.

"Do what you want. I don't care."

Did I believe what I said? I wasn't sure, but Aiden probably didn't have a thing for me anyway. I mean we literally just met and he most likely wouldn't be into some punk rock chick like me.

"Okay. Just wanted to give you a heads up before I do it."

"Alright, but I can't guarantee he'll say yes."

"What guy has ever said no to me?"

I laughed. She was too confident for her own good.

"You've only dated two guys and you broke up with both of them because you thought they were too smelly."

"They were smelly and you knew it!"

"Yeah..." I nearly scrunched my face up just remembering their foul stenches. Well her second boyfriend didn't smell too bad, but the first one...yikes.

"It's about time I met a guy who doesn't smell like they came straight out of a dumpster."

"Um excuse me, but I'm the one that introduced you to him."

Did I just give away my jealousy?

"You've got good taste then," she smirks. "But that doesn't mean I can't have a bite."

"Okay, now you're acting like he's some sort of snack."

"Girl, he looks like a snack," she laughs. "You've gotta admit that."

We were interrupted by Marcus and Wrench chasing each other around the classroom. Regardless of the teacher telling them to stop, they simply ignored her.

"Give me my phone, Wrench!"

"Never!" Wrench shouted.

They stumbled past us, Marcus accidentally running into Sitara.

"Marcus!" She exclaimed.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, Sitara!" Marcus apologized, looked nervous out of his mind.

Sitara sighed exasperatedly. "Wrench stop running and give him his phone back!"

Wrench looked hesitant and stood there for a moment.

"Now!" She glared at him.

He walked over and handed him his phone back. It was almost like she had some sort of control over them. Like if she'd get mad, they would immediately obey her.

"Now go sit down. The whole class is looking at you all like you're a bunch of idiots."

Marcus was scratching the back of his head nervously. "Sitara, I really am sorry about that. I should have watched where I was going."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Just sit down."

He immediately complied and sat down. Poor Marcus. Pretty much all of us knew he had a crush on Sitara since he met her in middle school, but she always seemed to ignore him and check out other guys instead.

"So what were we talking about? Oh yeah, Aiden. I'm gonna try to ask him out some time this week."

"And if he says no?"

"I'll be a little disappointed, but I can move on," she shrugged.

"Sure you will."

"What makes you think I won't?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"You tend to get a little grumpy if you don't get your way," I smirked.

"That's true, but in this case, probably not. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

"Yeah, a bunch of smelly fish you picked out."

"Hey, It's not my fault that they tried to cover up their stench with cologne on the first date."

I laughed out loud. "Girl, didn't you have a thing for Josh back in like ninth grade? He doesn't stink."

"Shit," she chuckled. "I forgot about that, but you know I'm over him. Aiden is like a hottie. For real."

I chuckled once more. "Well I wish you luck."

Soon after that, class was over and we went on our way. Fifth period came, which was art, and I wasn't tardy this time. Matter of fact, I was the first one in. I didn't pay any mind to the other people who came in. The only person I was searching for was Aiden.

And there he was wearing a white t-shirt and denim blue jeans. His dark brown hair was slightly messy like it usually was and his shirt showed off a little bit of his chest.

I found myself biting my lip while staring down at his chest. Sitara was right; he did look like a snack. Jesus, am I really checking him out?

His emerald green eyes made contact with mine and I quickly stopped biting my lip to hide the fact I was staring at him like eye candy. He gave me a small smile before sitting beside me.

"Hey," he said while setting his bag down.

"Hey," I replied while smiling. I felt strange today and I wasn't sure if it was from Sitara's talk with me this morning, or what. All I knew was that I needed to snap out of it. Now.

"So uh...about yesterday..." he began, "When I stood up to...Defect...were you okay with that?"

I laughed. I couldn't help but like the fact he used the nickname I made for Defalt.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "To be honest, I was surprised at first, but no one has ever stood up for me like that before, and plus it was pretty cool."

And kind of hot.

Câlisse, Clara snap out of it.

"Oh," he says while sighing in relief. "I just wanted to make sure because I thought...nevermind."

"No, tell me," I leaned in, now curious.

"Well I thought...I might have startled you," he scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh no, you're fine," I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Okay. Good."

"Yeah."

We grew silent for a moment until the bell rang and our teacher began asking us to turn in the syllabus. Soon after that, we were assigned to draw someone or something that we cared about.

"Someone or something that I care about? I might as well leave the paper blank." Aiden chuckled.

I grin. "No, there has to be something you care about. Like your family maybe."

"My family annoys me."

I laughed. "Understandable. How about a friend you care about or a pet?"

He looked away and appeared lost in thought after I said that. Did I strike a nerve? He was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I think I'll draw a car."

Well I was not expecting that. I should have figured I guess. Men love cars. I chose to draw a dog since they are cute and loving and better than people.

So far, Aiden was doing terrible with his car. I knew cars were hard to draw, but his appeared to be a five year old's drawing.

He saw me looking at his drawing and I smiled sheepishly while trying to hold in my laughter.

"Yeah, I know. It sucks. Sorry not everybody can draw like you can," he rolls his eyes.

"No, no it's okay...I guess."

"You can admit it, my car is terrible."

"Yeah," I giggled.

"I never really was good at art."

"I can tell."

He chuckled, "Fuck off already."

"Okay, okay. I won't make fun of your 'drawing' any longer."

Aiden and I spent the rest of the class period drawing and Aiden didn't make any improvement on his car drawing so he eventually gave up on it.

At lunch, Sitara was acting flirty with Aiden. She would occasionally take several glances at him, but he didn't look the slightest bit interested. Matter of fact, at one point I caught him rolling his eyes when she attempted to compliment his looks.

So far, it really wasn't working out, but I knew Sitara; she was persistent. She'd try again at some point.

I wish I could say I didn't care, but I don't know what it was about Sitara flirting with Aiden. I felt this weird feeling almost like bitterness, but I quickly tried to brush it off.

When I got home, I was greeted by no one. My mom is away for her new job, so she's been out of town. She said she'd be back in a few months so I was mostly at the house by myself.

My dad on the other hand, he left when I was only a child. He and mom had a rocky relationship and it turned out ugly because they would argue all the time. I haven't seen him since he and mom had that huge arguement which resulted in him storming out, never to be seen again.

I didn't know what to feel about my dad. I could say he was a coward for leaving us, but I didn't really get the time to get to know him. Mom always told me he was selfish and ignorant so I try not to think about him.

You could say it sucked being at the house alone all the time, which you're right, it kind of did, but I often invite my friends over and plus I've gotten used to it.

I spent the rest of the day eating, sleeping, and watching romantic comedies on netflix. This was a daily routine for me when I wouldn't invite my friends over. At the end of the day, my mom called me.

"Hi, sweetie," her voice was soft. "How was your day at school?"

I smiled upon hearing her voice. "It was alright. How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm hanging in there. I hate to leave you there all by yourself. I'll be back soon, honey. I promise."

''I know, mom, but please try to take care of yourself too."

"I will. You just make sure the doors are locked and-"

"Don't let anyone I don't know inside the house. I've got it, mom."

She sighs in relief. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Make sure get plenty of rest. I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Clara."

I chuckled before hanging up. She was a bit of a worry wart, but she was my mom and I loved her to death. Soon after that, I went to bed.


	4. Chapter 3: A Day at the Beach

**This chapter is a bit peerrrvy, but it gets funny afterwards. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Aiden's P.O.V.**

After finishing my first week of school, it was finally Saturday and mom wanted to get us out of the house like she always did, so she took us to the beach.

Nicky made friends already so some of them tagged along too. They were about as obnoxious as Nicky was.

It was hot as hell outside and the beach was crowded with people. Mom and I were sitting on blankets in the sand while Nicky and her girl friends were out in the water.

"You should go out to the ocean," mom turned to me while looking at me through her sunglasses.

I had my swim trunks on, but I didn't want to get in the water yet, especially when Nicky was out there. She would probably grab chunks of wet sand and throw it at me.

"Maybe later," I answered.

Mom nodded and laid back down. She was trying to get a tan, but I knew at the end of the day she would end up with major sun burn.

I sat for a few minutes, taking in the waves and the people around the beach. As I looked around, someone familar caught my eye. It was a girl heading towards the ocean. Wait, is that Clara?

She didn't seem to notice me as she stood at the edge of the ocean taking in the waves. Her hair was down, but it was a little messier than it usually was and she surprisingly wasn't wearing any makeup which was a weird sight for me, but she still looked good.

She was wearing a black bikini that showed quite a bit of cleavage along with matching bottoms.

I found myself checking her out as she slowly walked towards the ocean. I couldn't see her cleavage well anymore since she had just turned around, but I did however get a nice view of her ass. She had nice legs too.

God, what was I doing? I shouldn't be staring at her like that, but once she turned around, all my negative thoughts were forgotten. I found myself looking down at her chest. Her breasts were perky and big and she gave me a better view by raising her arm and running her fingers through her hair.

Jesus. She was hot. I mean really fucking hot. I've never stared at a girl for this long. I turned away only to now realize my lips were turning dry. Damn, I was completely about to drool over this girl, but I knew I had to look away. I couldn't let her catch me staring at her.

I took one more glance only to see her back facing me and I found myself checking out her ass again. If I kept staring at this rate, I might lose it.

"Hey! He's checking you out!" I heard Nicky's voice ring out from behind me.

Oh no.

Clara turned towards the voice and saw me. Shit. I spun my head around to see Nicky who was standing right behind me while giggling with the rest of her friends. Mom poked her head up as well.

I saw Clara making her way over to us. Once she got a good look at me, she mouthed out, "Aiden?"

Fuck me.

I didn't know if I should have ran, or just stayed put, but my mom would have my ass on the line if I ran so I stayed where I was while trying to make as less eye contact with Clara as possible.

I waited for my doom as I saw Clara out of the corner of my eye getting closer. Eventually her feet were visible and I looked up at her.

"I didn't expect to find you here," she said, her accent ringed out confusion.

"Yeah, me neither. I'm sorry my annoying sister over here won't shut her big mouth."

"You were so checking her out! I saw you staring at that booty!" Nicky said loudly before laughing.

God damn it, Nicky.

"I was not!" I felt my face get heated and it wasn't just because of the sun.

"Yeah right!"

"Wait, you two know each other?" Mom interrupted.

I heard Clara chuckle. "Yeah, we know each other at school. I didn't know you had a sister Aiden."

"Yeah, unfortunately I do."

"You're Clara, aren't you?" Mom said in realization.

"Uh, yeah. I assume he's mentioned me?"

"Oh he's talked all about you."

"Mom-" I tried.

"He says that you're the only person who has talked to him. I have to say you are a pretty young lady."

"Thank you. So are you," she smiled.

My mom grinned happily. "Why thank you." She leaned close to me and whispered, "This one's a keeper."

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Do you...want to go to the ocean with me?" Clara asked, sensing my discomfort.

"Of course," I gladly said as I got up hurriedly.

"Don't have too much fun out there with her Aiden," Nicky chanted.

I sigh exasperatedly. "Let's just go."

Clara giggled before leading me to the ocean. Once we got to where the water reached our feet, Clara asked, "You want to stand here, or get into the water?"

I shrugged while trying to keep eye contact with her face. "Whatever you wanna do."

She smirked as she looked me up and down. I was aware that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Wait, was she checking me out too? Now I felt slightly less embarrassed about her catching me checking her out.

"Right," she seemed to snap out of her own reverie. "Let's get in the water."

I nodded before following her out to the ocean. The water was kind of cold, which caught both me and Clara off guard. It had to be at least 85 degrees out here.

We went down further until we got used to the temperature and the water reached our shoulders.

"Your family is...interesting," Clara said.

"Yeah, you can say that," I chuckle. "Anyone in your family here with you?"

"Uh, no. I sort of live alone right now. My mom is out of town. I usually come here to relax."

"So you get to stay at your house all by yourself and do whatever you want?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Lucky. I'd kill to have at least a week away from my family."

"I don't blame you," she chuckled softly.

I didn't know why, but I strangely liked hearing her laugh. Her voice in general sounded soft and welcoming. I felt comfortable talking to her.

"Wait, if your mom's out of town and you're by yourself then where is your dad?" I asked out of curiosity.

I saw a weird look flash across her face that I couldn't quite make out, but it was only for a second before she went back to her normal expression.

Damn, did I strike a nerve?

"I haven't seen my father since I was little, so he isn't around," she frowned slightly.

"Oh...I'm sorry," I say, feeling dumb for bringing the question up. Way to go, Pearce.

"No, it's not your fault. How would you have known? I don't really think about him anyways."

There was an awkward silence between us after that. She looked away from me for a few seconds appearing lost in thought and I took a deep breath.

"My dad isn't around either," I broke the silence.

She turned to me.

"My mom thought he was absolutely crazy and he was, but she didn't want me to end up like him, so we moved to America when I was 13."

"Where were you originally from?"

"Ireland."

"Irish..." she smirked seeming to enjoy the fact I was from Ireland. "Do you speak any?"

"Haha, no. My family spoke english."

"Aw, that's a bummer. I really wanted to hear you speak a different language."

"Yeah, when pigs fly," I rolled my eyes and grinned.

"Who even says that anymore?"

"Me apparently."

We were silent again for a few more seconds before Clara spoke. "What would you do if I splashed you?"

There was a mischievous look in her eye that clearly meant trouble. I smirked, wanting to tag along with her little game.

"I'd probably splash you ba-"

Just then, she swung her hand across the water and I was greeted by the bitter taste of salt and fish shit.

"Oh no you don't," I say before I splashed her back.

She stuck her hands up weakly in an attempt to keep the water from hitting her face, but failed miserably.

Clara giggled almost like a school girl before splashing at me again. I was quick to back away this time and I saw her trying to swim away. I immediately went after her.

"Hey!" I shouted while chasing her. She was a giggling mess which caused her to slow down. I took this opportunity to catch up with her and eventually I caught her.

I grabbed ahold of her waist and spun her around so she was facing me. Our faces nearly clashed together, but Clara managed to steady herself by placing her hands on my bare shoulders.

We were close. My hand was still on the small of her back, and we found ourselves gazing at each other. I felt my heart begin to pound in my chest as I saw Clara beginning to bite her lip nervously or excitedly. I wasn't sure what she was thinking.

I cleared my throat before saying "Sorry," and letting go of her. "Was that too sudden?"

"What do you mean?" She looked confused.

"I mean..." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, "Grabbing you. Was that too sudden?"

"No, you're fine," she chuckled sounding almost out of breath.

I sighed in relief. "Okay...so uh..." I tried to bring up another topic, but failed to do so.

I saw a small smile appear on her lips. "Really, it's okay. It's all part of the game, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," I shrug.

I heard my stomach begin to growl and Clara must have heard it too because she let out a soft chuckle.

"Why don't we get something to eat? And don't worry, I brought money so your family doesn't have to follow you everywhere."

"Thank God," I say with a chuckle.

Soon, we got out of the water and I had to tell my mom where I was going.

"I could have got you all something, but if you insist, go on ahead," mom says while waving us off.

I mentally sighed in relief. We dried ourselves off before putting on some clothes over our bathing suits and leaving. We decided to go to a local pizzeria since it was the nearest place we could find and simply because we were hungry.

Once we got inside, we waited in line in order to get a table. Clara turned to me with a wide grin.

"So what's your favorite pizza topping?"

"Hm...sausage and pepperoni," I said, feeling hungry.

"Really? That's my favorite too. I especially like putting a little hot sauce on mine. Jesus, now I'm getting hungry."

I chuckled, "I don't blame you."

After waiting for about a minute, we finally got a booth. We sat from across each other and got our menus even though we already knew what we wanted.

"This has to be one of the best pizza places in San Francisco. Trust me, I've eaten here before with my friends so you won't be disappointed. Matter of fact, I think you, me and my friends should all hang out some day."

"Yeah, as long as you're there, I'll go. There's no way I can handle your friends by myself."

She laughed a little, "Don't worry, they would be incomplete without me. I know how annoying they can be at times."

"Yeah, they can be."

We spent the next 10 minutes asking each other random questions like our favorite colors, favorite food, and hobbies. Our food came shortly after. The sight and the smell of the pizza had my mouth watering.

Regardless of the pizza being insanely hot, I took a bite anyway because I was starving. I nearly burned my whole mouth before spitting it back out, causing Clara to laugh at me. Yep, my mistake.

"You need to wait," she says while giggling.

"Yeah, yeah."

After a few minutes of waiting, we finally ate, and I had to say I was not disappointed. Honestly, it was the best pizza I've ever had.

After we got done, Clara paid for everything and we basically spent the rest of the day walking around the city for a bit before returning to the beach. Mom and Nicky looked about as red as tomatoes from the sun.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch when I get home," mom swore under breath while picking up her blanket.

I couldn't help but laugh. I knew Clara heard it too and she laughed too. Nicky's whole body was covered in sand and sea salt. I'm glad I found Clara here, otherwise, I'd end up like mom and Nicky.

"Well...," Clara turned me with her hands behind her back, "I'm happy I found you here. I had a good time today."

I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, me too."

We were silent for a moment.

"So um...I'll see you at school?" Clara said.

"Yeah," I let out a slightly awkward chuckle.

"Okay..." she studied me for a few seconds before saying, "Goodbye, Aiden."

"Bye," I waved to her as she began to walk away. I turned around to face mom and Nicky.

"I'm guessing we're going home?" I said to mom with an amused expression.

"What do you think?" She said in frustration. "I'll burn to a crisp if I stay out here any longer."

So much for her wanting a tan.

When we got home, mom made Nicky and herself something to eat while I was still full from scarfing down half of a large pizza pie. Hell I think Clara could have eaten it all before I did; she was quick.

Yeah. I was glad I ran into her today. Otherwise, today would have sucked.


	5. Chapter 4: Breakable Things

**Aiden's P.O.V**

Well, today was Monday which meant the weekend was over and it was back to school. As much as I hated school, I did however look foward to seeing Clara. I haven't seen her since we hung out at the beach on Saturday.

Even though we only had one class together, including lunch, I still enjoyed talking to her, and I hope we can hang out sometime. Regardless of her bringing her friends...I can try and put up with them as long as she's there.

I got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, brushed my teeth, the usual routine. Nicky wasn't here to bother me this time since she was already dreaming about some new boy in her school.

Nicky thinks she's so secretive about it, but I could hear her talking about him with her friends. I have my suspicions, but I think she'll get over him. Hopefully.

Mom also let me drive to school today. It felt good to drive on my own again, rather than having mom drop me off. Once I arrived at the school, I was consumed with dread, already missing the weekend.

First period came and my math teacher informed us that we had homework due from the weekend.

The motormouth chinese guy, who I found out was named Jordi, threw his hands in the air and said, "Well fuck me backwards, we had homework?"

He was kicked out of the classroom after that.

I admit, I didn't do the homework over the weekend. I completely forgot about it. I guess my grade was fucked.

As she came to collect the papers, nearly the whole class didn't do the homework except for like two or three people. She had this "Are you shitting me" expression on her face, and I got the look as well. First F of the year. Mom's gonna be pissed.

Once first period was over, I was cautious walking down the hallway just in case Defalt or some other douchebag decides to fuck with me.

As I was heading towards second period, I caught sight of that kid in the green who sits at the table during lunch, I think his name is Josh. There was some chubby, social justice warrior looking chick talking to him.

She looked like she was a little too close to him for comfort and I could tell from Josh's expression that he was uncomfortable.

"You're soooo adorable. You remind me of a puppy," she said almost creepily. "Oh, I just wanna pinch your little cheeks!"

She began to pace towards him with her small chubby hands, but Josh was quick to move away.

"Please don't," he quickly said while trying to gain as much distance from her as possible.

I had no clue who this girl was, but I'm guessing she's done this before by the way she was speaking to him. I decided that if she tried to make another move, I'd step in.

"Why do you waste your time hanging out with those losers when you could be cool like me?"

On second thought, I'll step in now. This girl reminded me of that asshole, Defalt. I could tell this bitch was stupid by the way she was dressed. She had these round glasses on with a buttoned up purple dress shirt with a biker vest. Her hair wasn't too great either, considering she had a short mohawk.

"I don't want to sit with you, Lenni. I like my friends."

"Oh, come on, they're no fun!"

I made my way over to them and stepped inbetween the two of them so Lenni wouldn't get any closer to Josh.

"Hey, Josh," I interrupted while looking directly at Josh and avoiding eye contact with Lenni. "Want me to walk with you to class?"

I didn't know how he'd respond. Josh was a little unpredictable. Not dangerously unpredictable, but he was just hard to read at times.

"Excuse me, shitface. I was talking to-"

"Yeah," Josh answered abruptly before making his way over to me and standing beside me.

"Let's go," I said before leading him away from Lenni. I spared her a glance and she looked absolutely pissed. I placed my hand gently on Josh's shoulder, guiding him away from the monster.

Lenni kept throwing insults at me as we got further and further away from her, but I only ignored her. Once she was out of sight, I sighed in relief. I didn't have a clue where Josh's next class was, and I hardly even talked to the kid, but we walked in silence, not really knowing what to say to each other. After a couple of seconds, his eyes met mine.

"Thanks," he said, sounding almost void of any emotion.

"You're welcome," I said. There was a pause before I asked, "So who was that...weirdo chick?"

"Her name is Lenni. She's been trying to get me to be friends with her so that I can be a part of her group, Prime Eight."

"What's Prime Eight?"

"They're a group of hackers who sometimes try to use their abilities to blackmail people," he explained. "Defalt used to work with them, but now since he doesn't, Lenni, who is the leader of the group, has been trying to get me to work with them since I'm familiar with tech."

"So you're a computer nerd?"

"Not just me. Our entire group of friends are good at working with technology, but Lenni only seems to want me. I don't know why."

"If you ask me, she seems creepy."

Just ahead of us, we caught sight of Sitara leaning against the doorway of a classroom. She saw Josh and gave him a smile before noticing me. Her face lit up once she did.

"I didn't expect to find you here," she said to me before she made her way over to us. "I was wondering what took Josh so long."

"He was being held up by some weird chick named Lenni," I explained to her.

"Oh Jesus," Sitara turned to Josh and placed a hand on Josh's shoulder, "That girl is straight up creepy. I thought she stopped coming up to you."

"No, she's been doing it again."

Sitara turned back to me, her blue eyes making contact with mine. "Poor Josh has been dealing with that freak show since last year. She's an asshole to everyone except him for...some odd reason."

"Another 'Defect' we have to look out for?" I chuckled. I was starting to get used to calling him that ever since Clara brought it up.

"Where'd you come up with that name?" Sitara smirked while tilting her head to one side.

"I didn't come up with it, Clara did."

"And she never told me?"

"She thought it was lame, but now I find myself using it."

"Well...maybe when 'Defect' comes back around, you could throw him down. I'd love to see you do that," she said while giving me a playful smirk and a wink.

It didn't take a genius to see what she was doing. She's been flirting with me since last week, and news flash...I'm not interested. When will she take the hint?

"Yeah...sure," I answered kind of awkwardly.

In the corner of my eye, I could see Josh walking inside the classroom, leaving the two of us alone. Wow, so much for helping Josh. He could have at least stayed to ease the tension.

Thankfully after that, the bell rang and I realized I was late for second period.

"I got to get to class," I said, hoping Sitara would go inside the classroom.

"Alright," she sighs seemingly disappointed that the bell had rung, "I'll see you at lunch," she then disappeared inside the classroom.

I sighed in relief as I made my way to second period. Thankfully, I didn't get in trouble for being late since it was my first tardy.

After hours of classes, fifth period, which is the period I've been looking foward to, came around and as always, Clara was in class before me. She sat, resting her hands on the long outstretched table, appearing lost in thought. What was she thinking about?

She poked her head up once she noticed me come in and she gave me a smile. I returned the smile before sitting beside her.

"Hey," she said optimistically as if she was happy to see me.

"Hey," I replied back.

We were silent for a moment, simply gazing at each other until I interrupted the silence.

"What?" I chuckled.

Her smile grew wider at my response. "Nothing. It's just that I still can't believe we ran into each other at the beach."

"I really didn't expect to find you there," I said, thinking back to when I saw her in that swimsuit.

"Me neither, but I had fun. We should really hang out."

"Yeah we should, but we really don't have a way to keep in touch."

Clara was silent for a moment before saying, "Tell you what, we can exchange numbers and I'll tell you what we're doing from there. Sound good?"

A smile formed on my face, "Yeah. Sounds good."

We both pulled our phones out and gave each other our numbers. I smirked knowing that I could message her at any time.

"The only thing not to do is don't spam me with multiple text messages. I hate that, and Sitara does it all the time," she says with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't. My sister used to do that type of shit when she got her first phone and it annoyed the hell out of me."

She laughs, "Very well. I trust you not to do it."

Class proceeded as it usually did. We worked on paintings, and I had to admit, Clara was a good artist. Not only could she draw, but she could paint an entire landscape. The least I could do was paint a tree.

After fifth period was over, it was lunch time. Once Clara and I sat at our table, the band of misfits (A.K.A Clara's friends) were already chatting away. Wrench was apparently staring at some girl who was sitting at another table.

"Wrench, you've been stalking that girl since middle school," Marcus said to him.

Wrench was sitting with his hands curled up in his lap. He looked almost timid and shy; very unusual for a guy like him since he was energetic and talkative.

"Why don't you ever talk to her?" Clara asked.

Wrench made an expression that looked to be discomfort, "Because...I'm afraid she won't want to talk to me because of my mask."

"Why don't you just take it off?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It's just a part of who I am," he stated.

"Or maybe it's because you don't want to traumatize anyone with your face," Sitara said before laughing. The rest of us chuckled as well.

"Very funny, Sitara, but I'm way too attached to this thing to take it off."

"Well if she's not into you then move on," Horatio told him, "I think today you should talk to her."

"I don't think I should-"

"Come on, I'll even come with you. If shit hits the fan, you don't have to talk to her again. Deal?"

"You're going to leave me there, aren't you?"

"Probably, but it's the only way you're gonna learn how to talk to a girl you like."

He sighs and takes a glance back at the girl, who was sitting alone at an empty table while eating her lunch.

"Fine..." he said after a whole minute of encouragement from his friends.

Me along with Clara and the rest of her friends watched as Wrench got up with Horatio and they both made their way towards the girl. Normally, I wouldn't be interested in this, but since Wrench was a bit of a freak, I was intrigued to see what would happen.

As they made their way up to the girl's table, Wrench shyly trailing behind Horatio, I could hear Sitara say, "I bet this will fail."

"Hey, you gotta give him a chance," Marcus said. "It's the first time he's ever attempted to talk to that girl."

"Let's hope it goes well," Clara says with a sigh, not sounding too sure.

I was a little doubtful as well, but we had our fingers crossed as they stopped in front of the girl. She looked up at them and locked a strand of her jet black hair behind her ear. It looked like Horatio was the first to talk to her. He appeared pretty easy going with talking to her and occasionally he would point towards Wrench.

Horatio then stepped back and allowed Wrench to sit down in front of her. The girl appeared to be giggling, enjoying the whole situation. I stopped watching when I suddenly noticed something in the corner of my eye.

I saw Defalt walking by our table with a few of his clown girlfriends. I caught Clara looking his direction and the two exchanged a glance. Clara had a look that showed apathy while Defalt just simply looked at her. I didn't really know what he was thinking.

After a few seconds, Clara was the first to roll her eyes and turn away before Defalt did the same while leaving. I was surprised he didn't stop at our table to torment us. What was that about?

"Did you see that?" Horatio's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He was back at our table by himself . I looked behind him and saw Wrench talking with the girl almost timidly.

"Is he talking to her?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, and it looks like it's going well."

"I never would have thought," Sitara sounded surprised.

"Well hell yeah," Marcus said, "Horatio's the man when it comes to girls."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Sitara chuckles, "He basically whores around with most of the girls at school anyway. I'm surprised he doesn't have an STD."

"Hey," he said before laughing, "I got his shy ass over there, so you're welcome."

The rest of the day went by quicker than I expected. When I got home, I went into my room and crashed into bed as usual. I laid there for a few seconds before I heard my phone vibrate. I pulled it out my bookbag and I was surprised to see a text from Clara that read, " _Hi :)"_

I didn't expect her to text me so soon, but I grinned before replying, " _Hi."_

A few seconds later another text bubble came up, " _I'm bored here. You?_

" _Same here,_ " I replied back.

" _Want to do something sometime this week. The rest of my friends are apparently too busy to answer my texts."_

" _Yeah. Maybe tomorrow we could go bowling or something?"_

" _Yeah, that sounds like fun."_

I felt a small smile form on my lips, " _I'll ask my mom if we can hang out tomorrow. If she says yes, we can meet there after school tomorrow at 5. Sound good?_

" _Yeah, I'm already excited."_

I chuckle, " _Well don't get too excited. I still need to ask my mom."_

" _Oh right. Lol. Let me know what she says."_

After that, I jumped right out of bed and went out of my room to find mom clipping her toenails in the living room. It wasn't a lovely sight to see, but I knew I had to ask her.

"Mom?"

She put down her nail clipper before turning her full attention to me, "Yeah?"

"My friend, Clara, and I want to go bowling tomorrow at 5," I saw a small grin appear on her face and I rolled my eyes before continuing, "Can I meet her there?"

"Aw, honey, if it involves that girl then of course you can go. Just make sure you're home by 9. No later than that."

I sighed in relief, glad that she said yes, "Don't worry I will."

"And don't even think about fooling around with her-"

"Mom!" I exclaimed, "It's not like that! We're just bowling."

She stared at me long and hard for a moment before nodding, "Okay, I'll take your word for it."

I rolled my eyes once more and turned around to go back to my room before she could say anything else. I returned to my room before grabbing my phone and texting her back, " _She said yes."_

I could imagine the smile on Clara's face as she replied, " _Great! I'll meet you there tomorrow."_

I grinned before setting my phone down. I hope she won't bring her friends with her, but by the looks of her texts, it didn't seem like she was bringing anyone else. As I rested my head on my pillow, I couldn't help but look foward to tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 5: The Date

**Clara's P.O.V.**

(During first period)

"You're going on a date with Aiden?" Sitara asked with a surprised look, "I thought you told me you weren't interested in him."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Why does she always jump to conclusions like this?

"Sitara it's not like that. We're just hanging out."

"My ass you two are just hanging out," she paused briefly, looking as of she came to a conclusion. "I think you like him."

"No, Sitara-"

"And I think he likes you back."

A small blush crept up on my cheeks. I tried to chuckle and play it off. "What makes you think that?"

"Well he always seems to talk to you all the time."

"He probably talks to me because he can't stand you all."

"Maybe," she shrugged, "But you're going to a bowling alley with him alone and you didn't invite us. That means something."

"Well maybe," I mocked her, "I don't have to invite you guys."

"You always invite us," she crossed her arms.

I glanced away from her for a moment while keeping my composure. I wasn't about to give anything away. My eyes met hers once more and we had a stare off. She was smirking at me while I tried to keep a serious face.

"What?" I finally said after a few seconds.

Sitara was about to open her mouth and say something until we heard Wrench slam his fists against his desk and scream, "Damn it, I died again!"

We both jumped from his sudden outburst and turned to see them playing some game on their phone.

"That's because you suck ass at this game, dude," Marcus said with a chuckle.

I saw Sitara roll her eyes before she turned back to me. "They're playing that Fortnite game again which has caused them to talk way louder than before."

"No surprise they'd be part of the hype," I chuckled.

"Well they're both geeks," she said with a chuckle, "Now, back to what we were talking about. Admit it."

"Admit what?" I groaned.

"You like him," she smirks.

"Sitara..." I try to contain my blush.

"Your face is turning red!" She pointed at me. "I should have known!"

I sighed, "Alright, maybe I do..."

Her eyes widened, "You mean to tell me I wasted all that time flirting with him? No wonder he doesn't give a flying fuck about me," she chuckles.

"I said maybe, Sitara, calm down."

She rolled her eyes, "Well at least you admit it...now."

"I wasn't sure how I felt about him before and I still don't know if I like him one-hundred percent. It's only been one week of school."

She sighs, appearing to calm down, "You're right, but I still think this could be a potential date between you two."

I shrug, "I guess."

"Well don't just say, 'I guess.' Take this as an opportunity."

I grinned before shaking my head. "It sounds like you've developed a shipping for us."

"Oh you know I have. I just need to think of a shipping name."

"You're really going to think of a name for us?"

'Sshh, I'm trying to think," she was silent for a moment before exclaiming, "Claiden!"

I laughed, "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Do you have a better name?" She narrowed her eyes playfully at me.

"I'm not going to waste time thinking of a shipping name."

"That's what I thought."

We were silent for a brief moment before Sitara gasped suddenly appearing as if she remembered something.

"You know our principal, Dusan Nemec? The one we call the 'Douche?'

"Yeah."

"Well yesterday, he said my shorts were apparently too 'revealing' and they weren't appropriate for school even though there are PLENTY of girls wearing the same type of shorts and he says nothing," she had furrowed brows and she looked angry. I would be too. "So you know what I did this morning?"

I saw a small smirk appear on her face and I knew it meant trouble. "What did you do?" I furrowed my brows.

"I may have put something in his coffee just before school started this morning. Let's just say he's probably passed out in his office."

"Sitara!" My eyes widened, "You spiked his coffee?"

"What? It's not like it'll kill him or anything. Besides he spends enough time sitting on his ass behind his desk anyway. Might as well give him more."

"Sitara, you could go to jail for that! You better not have gotten caught..."

"Don't worry about it, I was completely careful-"

Just then we heard a lady's voice from the intercom ring through the classroom. "Can we please have Sitara Dhawan to the principal's office?"

"She's on her way," our teacher answered.

At that moment, Sitara's smirk had vanished and her smug expression was long gone. Marcus and Wrench also took notice and they looked confused. My guess, she didn't tell them about it.

"Fuck..." she swore under her breath.

I just looked at her with worried eyes as she hesitantly got up and picked up her bag, knowing all too well she would be staying in there for a while. She took a quick glance at me that clearly said, "I'm fucked," before leaving the classroom.

After a few seconds of silence, the class went back to chatting. As I worried for Sitara's fate, Marcus leaned over to me and asked, "What's goin' on?"

I sighed before replying, "She spiked Dusan's coffee this morning and somebody must have found out."

"What?!" Wrench shouted.

Marcus' face went from worry to shock, "For real?"

"Yeah. I shouldn't be surprised considering how much she hates the principal."

"Shit, that's crazy, but he deserves it I guess."

"Still, Sitara could get in serious trouble."

"She's no stranger when it comes to trouble" Wrench said.

"I don't know, she looked pretty spooked," I stated. "People can go to jail for that type of stuff."

"Well if she does, her parents could bail her out, or we could break her out if we wanted," Wrench says with a wink.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Wrench wasn't going to take this seriously.

"We all know he's a douchebag, but what did he say to her that made her so mad to put something in his drink?" Marcus asked out of curiosity.

"He apparently said something about what she was wearing."

"Was he targeting her about her scarf over her head again?" Marcus asked, now looking angry.

Dusan had called her out not once but twice for being a terrorist just because she wore that purple scarf on her head since he was stupid enough to mistake her for a muslim. Even if she was a muslim, it would still be wrong.

"Not this time. He called her out because of her shorts and she must have thought that was the final straw."

He smirked with a look of admiration on his face as he looked off into the distance for a moment before turning back to me. "That's fucking dope. The asshole deserves it."

"Agreed," Wrench chimed in.

I sighed and turned away, feeling like the only person who was worried. As I heard Marcus and Wrench's convo about how Sitara was brave enough to do that, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Aiden, feeling like I needed someone else to talk to at this point.

" _Sitara just got in trouble."_

" _I heard,"_ He texted back. " _The whole class is talking about it."_

" _So you know what happened then?"_

 _"Yeah. People are saying different stuff about her. About how couragous or how stupid she was to do that."_

 _"It's crazy that she actually went through with something like putting a drug into a drink,"_ I then bit my lip before I continued typing, " _Marcus and Wrench won't take it serious so I've just given up at this point."_

 _"What was her problem with Dusan anyway?"_

 _"He dress coded her for the hundreth time."_

" _Shit."_

 _"Yeah."_

We didn't say anything to each other for a minute until he sent me another text. " _Does this mean our plans are canceled?"_

I grinned and rolled my eyes, " _No, I'm still meeting you at the bowling alley."_

 _"Okay, same time?"_

 _"Yeah."_

After that, the bell rang and I was out of the classroom. Not much to my surprise, Sitara wasn't at lunch. The whole time, lunch consisted of chatter about how bold Sitara was. I couldn't help but be bothered by her not being here not only because I missed having her around, but because of the fear of what's to come for her.

Aiden, along with the rest of my friends were a little unsettled about it as well, except for Wrench.

"Dude, if she got in jail, she'd probably get bailed out within the next day," Wrench explained. "Aren't you guys aware that her parents are _extremely_ fucking rich. They own a God damn mansion."

"She might..." I said while biting my lip nervously, "But will she come back to school?"

"She's got to at some point," Wrench answered.

"What makes you so sure she will get bailed out?" Josh stammered, sounding worried as well.

"Sitara has gotten herself out of trouble before. She'll be fine."

After that, I spent the whole school day worrying about Sitara. I didn't receive any texts or calls from her until I got home. My phone started going off and an unknown number came up.

I usually didn't answer unknown numbers, but I had a hunch it was Sitara or someone else I knew so I slid my thumb across the green answer button.

"Hello?" I said out of uncertainty.

"Clara!" I heard a familiar voice answer through the other end and I nearly jumped out of excitement.

"Sitara? Where are you? What happened?" I questioned her.

"Before I get into anything, I'm using my mom's phone since she took mine away so I'm gonna have to make this quick," she said a little too quickly for me to comprehend, but I managed to catch enough things she said. "Anyway, don't worry. I'm not in the slammer...at least not yet; however, I did get suspended."

"For how long?"

"A week."

"How? Drugging someone's drink can get you into a lot more trouble than that," I said, sounding surprised.

"Well, here's the thing. Someone, I don't know who, is covering for me. The person who so happened to witness me spiking the douche's drink is also in the hot seat because he's being accused of lying since there were no cameras to witness what I did."

"And how is this 'someone' covering for you?"

I heard her chuckle on the other end before replying, "He/she reported that the witness was the one who actually spiked the coffee and they're trying to frame him. Honestly, I feel bad that the poor guy has to be falsely accused, but it definitely saves my ass. I wonder who would do that."

"Sitara, it sounds like you have a secret admirer."

"Maybe, but I'm actually surprised. I thought I was dead for sure."

"Don't get your hopes up just yet. There's still a chance that you could get caught."

"Yeah, I just hope this doesn't keep me from going to prom. I didn't get a chance to go last year," after she said that, I heard her gasp. "My mom is coming back. I gotta go."

"Okay, please try to call me when you can," I attempted to rush out but the call ended.

Well this has been interesting. Hopefully Sitara does come back to school, but until then, I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

As hours went by, I received several texts from Marcus, Wrench, Josh, and Horatio asking if I heard from Sitara. I told them everything she told me and they seemed to settle down a bit. I got a similar text from Aiden about Sitara and I just said I would tell him about it at the bowling alley because I had already typed it several times.

Before I knew it, the clock hit 4:30. I needed to get ready. Rummaging through my closet, I wanted to find an outfit that would catch Aiden's eye. Maybe not something that would reveal a shit ton of cleavage, but something a little different than what I usually wore.

I decided to wear a black tank top and a pair of denim shorts with fishnet tights and biker boots that went just below my knees. I applied some dark eye shadow, mascara, and some lip gloss before heading out.

On the way there, I couldn't help but feel as if I was going on some kind of date. I mean I did like Aiden, at least I was beginning too, but I needed to treat this as if it were just a night out with a friend. Nothing more. I had to admit that I was getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about being alone with Aiden.

Once I arrived at the bowling alley, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Aiden was already there waiting for me. He didn't seem to notice me at first as I put my car in park and stepped out. As I made my way towards him, he caught sight of me and I saw his brows raise slightly in surprise as he took a glance at my outfit.

A small smirk formed on my lips once I stood face to face with him. "Hey."

Aiden seemed to snap out of his own reverie before replying, "Oh, hey. You uh...you look nice."

He began scratching the back of his neck awkwardly in an attempt to hide his nervousness. I felt a warm and fuzzy feeling after he complimented me and my smirk grew wider knowing that I picked the right outfit.

"Thank you," I said now taking the time to study him.

He was wearing his signiture brown leather jacket (which I adored) with a white t-shirt and denim jeans. His dark brown hair was slightly messy, but in a good way.

"I'd like to say the same about you," I complimented him while looking him up and down.

He looked a little surprised that I complimented how he looked. "Thanks. Even though I practically wear clothes like this everyday to school," he said with a chuckle.

I grin widely before replying, "That doesn't mean you don't look nice, because you do."

I saw his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise and I couldn't help but grin. I don't think he realizes how good he looks in simple casual clothing. I stood there admiring him until I quickly snapped out of it after a few seconds.

I had to remember this wasn't a date. Just two friends going out. That's it.

"Let's go inside," I said while walking past him towards the building, leaving him to take in my compliment.

I turned my head after a few seconds to make sure he was following me from behind before entering the bowling alley. Once we got inside, we agreed to play for about an hour.

We went up to a lady, who looked to be in her late forties, behind the counter and I was about to pay for the both of us until Aiden set down a couple of dollars. I looked up at him surprised that he was willing to pay for the both of us, but also a little guilty that he felt like he had to.

"You don't have to pay, Aiden. I was going to."

"Don't worry. I got it," he waved me off as the woman took the money and asked what our sizes were before handing us two pairs of bowling shoes.

"You two have fun," she said while giving both of us a knowing look.

I smiled and nodded. I was a little confused by the look she was giving us, but I quickly brushed it off as we made our way towards our bowling lane.

Once we put on our bowling shoes, I began to tell him about what happened with Sitara. I was so in depth with the story I was telling him that I accidentally typed Sitara in the name box instead of my name, which I realized and quickly changed it.

"I wonder who would cover for her," Aiden said with furrowed brows, not looking to have the slightest idea as to who it might be.

"Trust me, I don't know who it is and she doesn't seem to know either. She should be back in school after a week of suspension."

"Okay. I still can't believe she went as far as to spike his drink."

"Right? She could have done something like vandalize his office or his car."

Aiden let out a low chuckle, "Those things are still a bit crazy, but I'm in no place to judge."

I sighed knowing he had a point. "I don't know. She's just had this war with Principal Dusan ever since she started high school with Marcus and everybody else. Dusan would just find some excuse to get her in trouble even if it meant nitpicking at her clothes. He's usually like that with everyone because he likes to abuse his authority."

"Has he said anything to you?" He asked with furrowed brows.

"I normally try to stay out of trouble, but I mean...there was this one time he called me out for being some goth poser."

"Really?" He said while crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but it was only because I was trying to stick up for Sitara when he tried to dress code her a while back."

"How the hell does he still have his job? Aren't people reporting it?"

"People are reporting him, but the staff thinks he's doing too good for the school to fire him, which I think is _vraiment_ (really) stupid."

He shook his head in disbelief. "There's gotta be something that'll get him out of the school for good."

I shrugged. "Maybe that drug incident Sitara pulled off will scare him into being nicer or leaving, but we don't know for sure. Let's just bowl. This whole topic is beginning to stress me out."

He nodded and we began playing for about an hour. I was surprised that Aiden sucked at this game. He seemed so confident in playing at first as if he were a professional, but at the end of the game, he only managed to strike four pins. He occasionally would catch me laughing at his horrendous gameplay and he'd just tell me to zip it.

After the game was over (I won by the way for the first time in my life) we made our way back outside.

"I had fun tonight," I said, "Thank you for offering to come here. I definitely needed a distraction for today."

I saw a smile form on his handsome face before replying, "I had fun too. Thank you for playing with me."

I couldn't control the smile that formed on my face as well. "You're welcome, and by the way, next time we go out, I'm paying," I gave him my best mean look to let him know I was serious, but all I received was a chuckle from him.

"Whatever you say, Lille," he smirked.

And then there was silence. As I stood there gazing at him, I couldn't help but feel the need to make some sort of contact with him. Not something as sudden as a kiss, but maybe a hug. I wanted to take a step closer to him, but I didn't. I felt it might be a bit too weird and I would come off as clingy so I stayed in the same place.

"I'll...see you at school tomorrow?" I said, breaking the silence.

I caught him staring down at my lips for a brief moment before his eyes quickly made their way back up to mine.

"Yeah..." he looked as if he got caught daydreaming. Perhaps he was?

"Okay, see you tomorrow," I said before turning around and waving goodbye to him.

I saw him wave back before heading towards his car. As I made my way towards my car, I couldn't help but feel strange, in a good way. If that were even possible. There was just something about Aiden that made me feel warm and welcome, as if I could talk to him about anything and not feel judged.

Am I really falling for him? I would talk to Sitara about this, but then I remembered she got in trouble today and she doesn't have her phone. It was funny how Aiden could help me forget about it just like that.

I wonder what he thinks of me. He must have thought I looked crazy staring at him like that.


	7. Chapter 6: Curiosity Killed The Fox

**Aiden's P.O.V.**

After spending some time with Clara yesterday, I had to admit that I felt kind of strange, but in a good way. When I first caught sight of her, I found myself checking her out...again.

It wasn't everyday that I got to see Clara in shorts, but I was digging those tights she was wearing beneath them. I could have swore she caught me staring at her, but even though I wasn't even dressed that great for the occasion, she still complimented me.

At the end of the night, I had this odd moment with her. It only lasted for a moment, but Clara and I just found ourselves staring at each other. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to pull her towards me and kiss her right then and there, but I didn't. She must have thought I looked weird staring at her lips like that. Hopefully it isn't too awkward when I see her in class today.

When I arrived at school, I felt the urge to use the restroom since I had forgotten to go before I left. Once I got to the bathroom, I was about to go in until I heard two familiar voices behind the wall.

"You did what?" I heard one guy who sounded like Horatio.

"I had to cover for her, man. I couldn't let her go to jail."

Was that Marcus? What were those two talking about? I pressed my ear up against the wall, wanting to listen a bit better.

"Marcus, bro, you could get in a shit ton of trouble for this. If someone finds out, not only is your ass on the line, but so is Sitara's."

So, Marcus was the one who set up that kid for lying. As interesting as it sounds, I'm not too surprised.

"I know," Marcus replied, "But I couldn't just sit around and let her get into trouble, or even worse, jail."

I heard a sigh from Horatio. "Look, dude, I know you like Sitara, but...this shit you just pulled shows way more than you just 'liking' her. You've got a serious crush on her if you're willing to risk something like that."

"Just...promise you won't tell nobody?"

"Believe me, if Sitara were to find out who was covering for her, she has the right to hear it from you. Not me. But why can't you just tell her how you feel, man?"

"Because she doesn't seem to like me back."

"Yeah, well what seems and what is are two different things. You'll never know how she really feels about you until you tell her."

"I don't know about right now, man. She's been real flirty with Aiden."

I heard a slight chuckle come from Horatio, "Dude, he does not look the slightest bit interested in her." His voice dropped almost into a low whisper, "But if you want my honest opinion, I think he's got the hots for Clara."

Do I? Or is it just lust? I shook my head and tuned back into the conversation.

"My point is, you gotta tell her at some point. If you keep waiting around, eventually somebody's gonna beat you to her. Even though, she's already had like two boyfriends who were complete shit anyways."

Just then, the bell rang for first period. Shit, I had to get out of here.

"Let's just go before somebody comes in," Marcus says.

As soon as he said that, I was out of there. I guess I had to find another bathroom then. Still, it got me thinking whether if I should tell Clara or not. Maybe it wasn't any of my business, but should I keep it to myself?

After using the bathroom, I made it to first period only a few minutes late. The teacher didn't say anything to me surprisingly as I took a seat. She seemed occupied with telling the class something about a group activity. Great.

"Each of you will be assigned a partner to work with," she explained, causing everyone to groan, including me, "Now, now. This is a way for you guys to be able to communicate and work together. I think this will be good for all of you."

Yeah right. I'm most likely not gonna see any of these morons after graduating so what's the point? After that, she went down each row, pairing people together until she stopped in front of me.

"Aiden, you will be assigned with Jordi," she pointed towards the annoying loud mouthed kid who was sitting a few seats from mine.

Are you fucking kidding me? It could have been anybody else but that kid. Oh well.

Jordi took a quick glance at me, not seeming to give a shit about the assignment in general before rolling his eyes at the teacher. She gave him a sharp glare before telling him to come over and sit next to me. I just stayed silent. I wasn't about to make the situation worse.

It took a lot of convincing, but Jordi finally went over to the empty seat next to mine looking annoyed that he has to do the assignment with me.

Once the teacher handed us our papers and left, he leaned towards me and said, "Okay, before you go and assume that I'm an expert at math just because I'm chinese, news flash, I'M NOT."

I looked at him, confused. "I wasn't going to-"

"Great! Also, I don't give a flying fuck about this shitty assignment that she's making us do so don't expect me to work on it. I don't even need this class to fucking graduate. I already took some stupid supportive math class three god damn years ago and believe me, the teacher couldn't teach worth a shit so I didn't learn anything." He then sighed which I honestly couldn't believe he still had air in his lungs. "Jesus...I need to get paid to go to school."

I was already getting tired of listening to him. "Are you done?"

"For now." He then slammed his head down on his desk.

I sighed before focusing on the worksheet in front of me. Honestly, I didn't even need Jordi's help with this worksheet, let alone anyone else. It was just a sheet filled with algebra problems and the teacher was probably just finding some excuse to get people to work together.

Throughout the rest of class, Jordi didn't talk to me, which I was glad he didn't, otherwise I would have to start bringing duct tape to school.

After class, my mind went back to the conversation Horatio and Marcus. Should I tell Clara? I feel like she deserves to know, but on the other hand, she might tell Sitara and that could spark some tension. Maybe I should keep it to myself for now.

Before I knew it, I was in my fifth period class and surprisingly, Clara wasn't there. I hoped she was just late and not absent. I was looking foward to seeing her today for some reason. I'm guessing it was because we went out last night, and I wanted to hang out with her some more.

Occasionally I would check and see if Clara had entered the classroom only to be disappointed to see it wasn't her. Five minutes went by before the bell rang and still no sign of her. Looks like she wasn't here today, which I was bummed about, but I could probably survive through class without her.

Probably.

The first couple of minutes of class felt a little odd without her there considering that I didn't know a single damn person in here besides her, but just when I was about to lose hope, the door opened. My eyes quickly shot up to see a very pissed off looking Clara. A part of me was relieved that she was here, but I took notice of her face being slightly red which instantly left me wondering what happened that made her so late.

"Clara, how nice of you to join us," Mr. Kenney said with clear sarcasm in his voice.

She sighed in response, "Am I in trouble?"

He let out a soft chuckle, "Of course not. Have a seat."

Without another word, Clara began walking, well more like stomping, over to her seat. Once she sat down, she sighed heavily before dropping her bag on the ground. She then turned to me and did her best to work up a smile which I could clearly tell was fake.

"What's wrong?" I asked, curious to know who or what put her in a bad mood.

She huffed and her smile faltered. "I just ran into some trouble in the hallway."

"What kind of trouble?" I asked almost with caution, hoping that she wouldn't snap.

There was a short pause before she finally spoke, "Fucking Defalt."

"What did he do?" I said, feeling a sudden urge to find the douchebag and shove a foot up his ass. He had to have done something really shitty to make Clara this upset.

"He and these two other guys were picking on some poor ninth grader, you know calling him names, dumping stuff out of his bag and throwing his books at him. So being the nice person I am, I step in to help the kid, and Defalt was just standing there trying to defend his actions like any typical asshole would. He calls me "sensitive" for trying to defend this kid and I swear I wanted to just..."

She then took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself before she continued, "Long story short, I got the kid out of that mess, but...I just don't understand how he can be like that."

I was about to say something until another voice startled the both of us from behind.

"Are yall talking about ratboy?" We turned to see T-bone reclined behind his desk looking amused by our conversation.

"Yeah," Clara answered. "He's such a jerk."

"I had him in class one year. He was always slackin' off and whenever I told him to do something, he would flip me off and tell me to go fuck myself," he said with a small chuckle, not caring that he just swore in front of his own students. "You said he was throwin books at the kid?"

Clara nods, "Yeah. I just don't know why the school hasn't done anything about him."

"Well if you want me to be honest," he leans forward a little bit and says in a hushed voice, "I don't think the principal is doin' a very good job at runnin' this place. If he was, Defalt would be long gone by now."

Damn, even the teachers thought Dusan wasn't suitable for being in the position that he was. It made me wonder why he was even the principal of this school.

"This school has gone downhill ever since he took the throne," he continued, "Believe me, I've been working here for ten years and I know change when I see it."

"Does he make you not want to work here?" Clara asked out of curiosity.

He shook his head, "Not really. Actually, I want to be here long enough to see him leave this school for good."

I could see a smirk appear on Clara's face. "I do too."

After class, we went to the cafeteria and I had to admit, lunch felt way more quiet without Sitara.

"So you're telling me Sitara is off the hook?" Wrench asked Clara with astonishment.

"Yeah. I told you that already," she said with an eyeroll, "I don't want to keep repeating myself."

"I know, but it's a big fucking deal. Either it's someone who's close to Sitara, or they really hate Dusan. Maybe both?"

"Yeah, probably," Clara said.

Throughout their chatter, I noticed that Marcus was the most silent out of all of them. His face had the word 'guilty' written all over it and it wasn't difficult for Horatio to take notice as well. After all, he knew who really covered for Sitara and so did I.

When I got home that day, Nicky immediately greets me at the door, which was unusual. She had her hands behind her back with a huge grin on her face. I knew that she had some interesting news to tell me.

"Aiden," she says, her grin growing imposssibly wider, "I have some really good news!"

I sigh, knowing that I'm probably not going to care about what her exciting news was, but I'll hear her out.

"I'm all ears," I replied.

Upon hearing my answer, she takes a deep breath, "Okay, so I've...well it's better if I show you."

She turns her head sideways and does a hand gesture, signaling someone to come over. What I saw and heard next nearly made my heart stop. There appeared a teenage boy who looked to be Nicky's age and he stood beside her looking smug and casual.

"Aiden, meet my new boyfriend, Cody."

 _Did she just say...boyfriend?_


	8. Chapter 7: Boyfriend?

**Okay before we get into this chapter, I just want to say I'm really sorry for the long ass wait. I've been preoccupied with another story idea and not to mention family issues. Anyways, this chapter will probably be pretty short, but the next chapter will be...quite interesting. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Aiden's P.O.V**

"Hold on...did you just say boyfriend?" I asked Nicky in complete shock.

"That's right, Aiden. I have a boyfriend. I know how much that word scares you, but it's true," she said with an eyeroll.

Was she serious?

"Nicky, you're not ready for a relationship. You're only thirteen."

"Well mom doesn't care so I should be able to do what I want."

"Nick-"

"Could you give us a second?" She told her new "boyfriend" named Cody. He nodded before leaving the two of us. "Look, Aiden. It isn't right that you get to bring girls over all the time, yet if I just bring ONE guy over, you go nuts."

I huffed, knowing all too well that Nicky was going to put up a fight about this.

"If this is about me and Clara, you need to get over it. We're just friends."

"Bullshit, you never talk to girls as much as you do with Clara. You two clearly got something going on."

"Nicky, we've only known each other for two weeks. We're just friends," I say frustratedly.

"Right..."

"Tell me, how long have you known this Cody guy?"

"We've...well...that's not the point!"

"Nick, how long have you known him?" I press further while crossing my arms.

She shrugs and looks around at anything but me, "I don't know. A couple of days."

My mouth dropped open, "Are you kidding me?"

"It doesn't matter!" She stomped her foot. "There's something between us. I know it."

"Yeah right," now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Well Cody actually pays attention to me, unlike you! All you do is run away from me because apparently I'm too embarrassing for you."

"Well...I mean you are."

"Really? How?"

"Do you really not know? When we were at the beach, you had to announce that I was staring at Clara's ass, which I was not."

She folded her arms, "You so were! Don't even try to deny it!"

"No I wasn't."

"Your face is getting red!"

"Nicky..."

"You know, instead of your name being Aiden Pearce, it should be changed to Aiden Pervert," she giggled.

"I wasn't trying to be a pervert."

"So you admit it!" She pointed at me.

"It's...what men do."

"No, staring at a girl's butt is what boys do, not men."

"Yeah? Cody's a boy. I bet he stares at yours all the time."

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, "He does not."

"Does too."

Nicky continued to try and convince me that Cody wasn't just some player until mom emerged from the kitchen and approached us.

"What are you two arguing about now?" She glared at the two of us.

"Aiden hates Cody!" Nicky accused me.

"I never said that."

"Both of you come inside. I don't know why you guys are standing out there."

It occurred to me that I was still standing in front of the door and I hadn't come in yet. Nicky rolled her eyes once more and stepped aside so I could come in.

I got a good whiff of air conditioning as I entered the living room and came face to face with Nicky's new boyfriend, Cody. He was comfortably reclined on the sofa and his legs crossed.

He took notice of me and gave me a small wave. As much as I didn't want to return the gesture, Nicky would lose her shit if I appeared threatening to this guy, so I hesitantly waved back before scurrying out of there. Was mom okay with this? I had to talk to her.

I found her in the kitchen cleaning out the oven. She didn't notice that I was behind her until I called out her name, causing her to jump and bump her head on the roof of the oven.

She hissed in pain and while rubbing her head, she turned towards me.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"Uh...I must have come at a bad time."

Upon hearing this, she sighed. "No, it's fine. My head just hurts. Is there something you're here for?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk about Nicky's new boyfriend, Cody."

"Oh, him? You don't need to worry about that. It's a middle school relationship and they'll separate eventually."

I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe you're right, but this is the first time Nicky has ever dated someone. It just caught me off guard when I saw him."

I heard a light chuckle come from her. "Oh trust me, I was taken aback as well, but yet again they really don't seem like soulmates. I wouldn't worry about it."

As much as I wanted to agree with my mother, something was telling me to keep an eye on the kid.

"Whatever you say, mom."

Soon after that, I retreated to my room as I usually did after school. Mom may be giving the kid a pass, but unlike her, I was vigilant.

 **Marcus's P.O.V**

(2 Weeks Later)

Ever since Sitara came back after her suspension, she's been wondering nonstop about who helped her get out of being expelled or arrested. I denied having any involvement of course knowing all too well that I was the one who did it and if she were to find out, I'd have to tell her why which also means I'd have to tell her how I feel.

Right now, I was taking a run around the school track with some old school hip hop blasting through my earbuds. Every once in a while I'd come here after school to clear my head and after everything that's happened, I could definitely use some time here right now.

After a few minutes, I stopped to take a water break. As I chugged some of it down, I heard someone call out my name from behind me.

"Yo, Marcus!"

I turn around and I'm surprised to see Sitara, the exact person who I was trying to get my mind off of. She was wearing all white today. She had on a white oversized sweatshirt and white shorts with black cross symbols on them. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just going for a run."

"On the school track? I never knew that you came out here after school. If I would have, I'd join you, which is exactly what I'm going to do. Hope you don't mind."

"Nah, no worries. Let me guess, you wanna race?" I said while raising an eyebrow, knowing all too well that she was the competitive type.

A smug like smirk formed on her face, "Well, I was actually wanting to go for a jog with you, but if it's a race you want..."

Not even less than a second later, she bolts right past me, tempting me to follow suit. I was quick to run after her as she began to speed down the entire track. It took me a good bit, but I finally managed to pass her just when she was about to cross the white line.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her shocked facial expression upon me beating her in a race for once.

"You just got your ass beat," I mocked her.

"You got lucky that time."

"Just admit that I beat you," I smirked.

She gave me a huge eye roll before grumbling, "Fine."

After doing a little victory dance, Sitara's glare turned into a smile.

"Alright, alright. Calm your tits," she said while shaking her head. "Hey, I'm planning on setting up a little welcome back party, you know since I am back after rotting at home for a week with nothing to do.

"Let me guess, this party is going to be at your house, or should I say mansion?"

"Yep, and I'm thinking of doing some karaoke and playing a few games."

"I might just be there."

"You bet your ass you'll be there. I'm making sure to invite all of you. Even Aiden if he wants to come."

A small twinge of jealousy hit me when she brought up Aiden, but then I remembered what Horatio told me about him not being interested in Sitara.

"I'm gonna be having it this Saturday. Not sure what time yet, but it's definitely happening and you better be there," she gave me a playful nudge.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I come. Have you told the others?"

"No, but I'll be sure to let everyone know soon. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Marcus," she said as her lip quirked up into a smirk which made her look even more attractive than she already was.

I grinned back at her and soon after that she was gone. I had to admit, I enjoyed spending time with her, even though I was just trying to get my mind off of her a moment ago.

I wonder how she'd react if she knew about my involvement. The thought almost gives me chills and I'm hoping it doesn't get to that point, but I know at some point it will. I'd have to think of what to say besides confessing my feelings. I got into deep thought about it as I went for another run around the track.


	9. Chapter 8: The Party

**Aiden's P.O.V**

It's Saturday evening, and I'm currently getting ready for this welcome back party that Sitara is having at her house. The whole gang is supposed to be there, including Clara which made me look foward to the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually starting to get along with her friends, but just the thought of Clara made me want to go to this thing.

God, what's happening to me? Clara has this strange effect on me, like everytime I think of her I always get this strange feeling that I can't describe. I try to brush it off, but it always creeps its way back in when she pops up in my head again.

For the party, I guess I'll wear some plain jeans, a black t-shirt and my brown leather jacket. I know, I don't seem to really wear anything else, but I always keep it simple unless there's some fancy event going on.

Before I left, I told my mom I was going and she warned me to be careful and not to do drugs or drink. Funny how she worries about me doing something I most likely wouldn't do, but she doesn't say anything about Nick's new boyfriend. Interesting.

When I left, I followed the location Sitara gave me to her place on my GPS. Once I got there, my jaw nearly dropped at the sight of her house, or should I say mansion. Wrench wasn't kidding when he said her family was rich. Even though there was a huge gate blocking my way to the entrance, I could see the building and it looked like the type of place a celebrity would live in.

I could see a fountain pouring out water from all directions and there were also trees and bushes surrounding the front of the mansion that further complimented its look. As I sat in front of the huge gate in front of me, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know if Sitara was going to open the gate or I'd run into some security guards.

I was about to call her until the gate started opening. I then heard my phone vibrate. I picked it up and saw that it was a message from Sitara.

" _Sorry for not telling you about this ahead of time, lol. When you go in, on your right there's an underground entrance to the parking lot._ "

Jesus, she even has her own parking lot. Once I drove through the gate, I looked around and saw the underground entrance that Sitara was talking about. I honestly felt like I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, almost as if I was trespassing. It's probably because I've never been to a place like this before.

When I entered the parking area, I was even more stunned by a couple of expensive looking cars all parked together. No way in hell would I be able to afford those. One of them was a Lamborghini. A fucking Lamborghini. I'm not sure what her parents do for a living, but they are definitely making a fortune.

While driving through the underground parking lot, I passed a few cars that looked average and I assumed they were everyone else's. Once I found an empty spot I pulled in and parked before getting out and making my way over to that Lamborghini. I HAD to take a look at it. It had a silver color and it looked shiny and new. As I got closer to it, I began to admire it. I couldn't help but imagine myself taking this thing for a joyride. Of course, I wouldn't be able to afford it, but it was nice to think about.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to touch it, but even if I wasn't, I was always a bit of a rule breaker. I reached my hand out and I was nearly about to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that."

I jumped at the sound of Sitara's voice coming from a distance behind me. I turned around and saw her leaning against a glass door. She chuckled upon seeing my startled expression.

"I know it looks nice, but my parents would have a fit if they found fingerprint marks on one of their cars."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly from getting caught. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. Come on, I'll give you a little tour around the house."

I nodded and followed her inside. She led me to an elevator that would take us up to the first floor. I was still taken aback by all this and as the elevator began to move up, I asked her, "Just out of curiosity, what do your parents do for a living?

She chuckled once more, amused by my amazed expressions. "Well...I don't really approve of what they do to get the money, but let's just say they work for a big corporation."

Upon hearing the beginning of her sentence, I turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. "What do you mean you don't approve of them? What exactly do they do?"

She sighs disappointedly, "They make big bucks on scamming and stealing from people who don't deserve it. My own fucking parents take advantage of others just to make millions off their "amazing" company and they get away with it everytime."

She sounded a little ticked off. Maybe this was a sensitive topic for her, but I wanted to push further. "Really? What the hell kind of company do they work for?"

The elevator stopped and the doors opened in front of us. As we stepped out, she replied, "A company called Blume. You ever heard of them?"

I thought back. The name did sound familiar. "I've seen their logo a few times."

"Well they built this thing called the ctOS which basically spies on people through their phones, computers, hell even kid's toys. Blume learns about their habits and finds ways to charge them more money."

"Damn. That sounds nasty."

"It is. Once I move out, I'm thinking of starting a movement to protest this type of thing or at least join a group that does. There's got to be more people aware of this," she says looking determined.

"I'm sure there are."

As we talked, she led me to the living room and we were greeted by Clara and Josh chatting in the living room. Her face lit up once she saw me.

"It's about time you came. Did you get lost?" She asked with a small chuckle.

"Kinda. I mean this place is just...wow. I would never be able to live in a place like this."

"Me neither. Sitara's parents make quite the living."

"Yeah..." I remembered what Sitara told me about her parents not too long ago, "They do."

"Not that they deserve it," Sitara chimed in. "Anyways, Josh could you get everyone else inside? We're gonna be playing a game of would you rather and then we'll do some karaoke."

Josh nods before heading outside.

"And I'm gonna go fetch the pizza from the kitchen," Sitara said before making her exit.

As I looked around the living room, admiring the paintings and furniture, I didn't realize that Clara was watching me with a grin on her face.

"You can't seem to get over this place, can you?"

Snapping out of my reverie, I turned my attention to her. "Well it's not everyday I get to go inside a mansion."

"Same, but I've been here so many times that I'm kinda used to it," she said before patting the spot beside her on the couch. "You can sit down you know."

"Well I know that," I rolled my eyes and smirked before sitting down beside her. "So how long have you known Sitara?

She crossed her legs and made herself comfortable before replying, "For about a year now. I remember when I first saw this place, I had the same reaction as you. Even though Sitara is not a big fan of this place, I certainly wouldn't mind staying in a place like this. For a week at least."

"Wait, you know about her parents and what they do?" I said almost in a hushed voice, not entirely sure if I should be talking about it.

"Oh not just her parents. Her whole family is made up of people who are brainwashed by luxury. Don't worry, Sitara makes it pretty clear. She's told us before. You don't have to whisper," she laughs a little.

"Oh, so it is true."

"Yeah. Believe me, I've met her parents before and they look at me and everyone else like we're tv dinners. They almost remind me of our principal, Dusan."

"Rich assholes seem to be the running theme here in San Francisco."

"You won't believe how expensive it is to actually live in this city. Let alone the entire state. We're lucky enough to even have roofs over our heads," she then frowns. "There's a lot of people here without homes as well."

Her expression became sadder as if this were a sensitive subject for her. I was about to say something until we heard chatter from a distance. I turned to see Marcus, Wrench, and Horatio heading towards the living room with towels around their shoulders along with Josh following close behind them.

"Alright guys!" I hear Sitara's voice erupting from behind us. She had three pizza boxes with paper plates on top in one hand and two huge bottles of soda in the other. She set them down on a table before making herself a plate of pizza. "Gather around. We're gonna be playing a game of Would You Rather."

Wrench obviously was the first to snag three slices of pizza before we all could even begin to grab our plates. Afterwards, Sitara explained that each of us would take turns asking each other Would You Rather questions.

Sitara gave the first question to Marcus which was if he'd rather be in the movie _Jurrasic Park_ or _The Wal_ king Dead. Marcus, being the movie geek that he was, went into depth about them and he finally decided on Jurrasic Park since he'd never survive a zombie apocalypse. Then it was Marcus's turn to ask Wrench a question.

A smirk appeared on his face, "I got a good one for Wrench."

Wrench gave him a skeptical look, but he let him continue any way.

"Wrench, would you rather pet a dog, or-"

"Second option," he interrupted. "I don't care what it is, but I am sure as shit not petting a dog."

I grew confused. Does he hate dogs are something?

"I think you wanna hear what the second option is," Marcus said.

"Go ahead cause I'm still not going to touch a fucking dog even if my life depended on it."

I glanced around the room to see if anyone else was just as confused as I was, but they all thought this was normal for him.

Furrowing my brows I raised the question, "Why don't you want to pet a dog?"

The symbols on the eyes of his mask turned into giant O's, before his head shot towards me. "Because they're evil!"

I heard Clara sigh next to me. "He has a fear of animals," she explained. "Which is kinda sad since dogs are really sweet."

"Oh, you think they are, but that's how they trick you. They, along with all the other animals, are learning our behaviors and one day, they're gonna find a way to get above us on the food chain."

"You're just being paranoid,"Clara argued.

"That's where you're wrong, Clara. They'll all dominate us one day."

"Anyway," Marcus barged in the conversation, "Let me ask you the question again and I mean the whole question. No interruptions this time," he said with a chuckle.

"Fine."

"Okay. Would you rather pet a dog, OR, kiss Principal Dusan's ass?"

Wrench's grumpy expression turned into three straight dots. He was clearly unpleased. Upon seeing this, Marcus bursted out laughing along with everyone else in the room. I even grinned a litttle bit.

"Marcus!" Wrench whined. "Why did you have to give me a difficult one?"

"Just to see what your answer would be," he replied.

Wrench then crossed his arms, contemplating his decision. "Do I have to answer?"

"You gotta pick one, man."

He was quiet for a few seconds before letting out a low groan and bowing his head down in defeat. "How long do I have to pet the dog?"

"Uh, for a second."

"That's too long."

"Come on, Wrench."

"How about a half a second?" Wrench offered.

"A second," Marcus repeated.

Wrench grew quiet once more before quietly saying, "Fine. I'll...pet a dog. As long as I don't have to submit to that asshole."

"Yes! Finally! I got you to agree to pet a dog!" Marcus cheered.

"Wait, I don't actually have to pet a dog, do I?" Wrench said, looking afraid.

"You might..." he teased.

"Marcus..."

"Chill," Marcus said while laughing once more, "I'm just playin."

He sighed in relief and the game continued on. After the game was over, Sitara pulled out her karaoke machine and sang a few songs along with Marcus and Wrench, who honestly sounded terrible.

Afterwards, everyone else wanted to go out to the pool. If I would have known that she had a pool, which I probably should have, I would have brought my bathing suit. Sitara took notice of me being the only one left out and she approached me, wearing her purple two piece bathing suit.

"Did you want to go swimming?"

"Well...it's a nice looking pool, but I didn't bring a swimsuit."

"My brother has a pair of swimming trunks you can wear," she offered. "Don't worry, I'm sure he wouldn't mind it. He's not even here anyway. Come on, I'll take you to his room."

Before I could even say anything, she gestured me to follow her, so I did. She lead me to what I assumed to be her brother's room, which looked just as glorious as the rest of the mansion. Sitara then rummaged through his closet and pulled out a pair of black swimming trunks.

"Here," she hands them to me, "I'll leave you alone to get changed."

She then walked out, leaving me standing kind of awkwardly alone with her brother's bathing suit. Guess I'd better get changed then. After putting the bathing suit on, I headed outside and the first thing I was greeted to was Wrench in a speedo. Definitely not a pleasant sight.

"Watch out guys, I'm gonna dive!" Wrench announced as he headed for the deep end. Almost instinctively, everybody moved away.

"I don't think you should do that," Sitara, who was in the jacuzzi, said from a distance. "You can't even dive."

"Watch me," he glared at her before making a run for the pool. He stuck his arms out in front of him in an attempt to dive, but when he jumped, he didn't curve his back far enough and he ended up landing flat on his stomach instead.

Ouch.

Yeah, I wasn't about to get in the pool with Wrench. I decided to stay in the jacuzzi for most of the time and once Wrench took a break, that's when I took the chance to get in the pool. Eventually I dried myself off with a towel and went back inside. I was instantly greeted to the bone chilling coldness of the air conditioning and I decided to go upstairs and change.

As I headed up there, something caught my eye. It looked to be a balcony that had a view of the backyard, which was where the pool was. I headed towards the glass door, sliding it sideways, I stepped outside towards the balcony and once I was close to the railing, I soon realized that it wasn't just a view of the backyard I was seeing, there was a whole city view.

As if this place couldn't amaze me enough, I stood, admiring the city lights and buildings along with the sound of cars passing by. I didn't even notice someone was behind me until I heard the glass door slide shut. I jumped a little at the sudden noise and I turn to see Clara wearing a white bathing suit coverup, which was see through. I could tell she was wearing the same bikini she wore when we ran into each other at the beach. Her raven black hair was slightly curled from the water.

"Sorry for startling you," she apologized, "I just figured you wanted some company."

"It's fine. I just didn't expect anyone else to come out here."

I watched her as she made her way beside me. Once she got close enough, she leaned against the railing and gazed down below.

"This definitely is a nice view from up here," she then turned to me, "You enjoying yourself?"

"For the most part, yeah," I respond, "Well minus Wrench in a speedo."

Her face scrunched up as if she was cringing at the thought, "I feel you." She then released a light chuckle before looking back down where everyone else was. After a few seconds of silence, I gradually leaned back against a wall and instead of looking down at the pool area like she was, I was watching her.

Well to be more exact, I was admiring her. Her ocean blue eyes definitely popped out at night and she wasn't wearing any makeup, which made sense considering the fact that she was swimming earlier. My eyes then trailed down to her lips, which had started moving, but I didn't comprehend all of what she was saying due to me being distracted.

She said something along the lines of, "Marcus really likes Sitara," "Usually good with women, but doesn't want to ruin his friendship with Sitara," and, "Just go for it."

When she said the last sentence, I interpreted it as something completely different than what she actually meant, as if she was telling me to go for it and I did. I really did.

"Hello?"

I snapped out of whatever daydream I was in to see Clara with a confused expression.

"Oh, uh...what?" I said stupidly knowing all too well I had no idea what she said before.

"You're not even listening. Are you?" She said before shaking her head. "I guess it's typical. You guys are usually not into love and romance. I must be boring you."

"Well..."

"It's okay," she smiled. "I'll change the subject."

After she said that, she went silent for a few seconds appearing to be thinking about a new topic. When she failed to do so, she sighed. "Sorry if I'm making this awkward. You were probably fine out here without me anyways."

"No, no," I say, not wanting her to leave if she thought of doing so. "I like your company."

"Oh...okay good," she said appearing to be mentally sighing in relief. "Well, what do you dream of doing in the future?"

I was often asked that question a lot by my mom and my teachers, but I never really thought about what I wanted to do after school was over. Since I didn't really have an answer for her I replied, "I don't know. I never thought about it really."

"Yeah, school doesn't really seem to help with that," she then rested her arms on the railing and took a glance at the city view, "I was thinking of maybe being a tattoo artist, or a model. I haven't decided on the two."

"No doubt, you'd make it into the modeling industry. That's for sure," I say, not really realizing that I basically just complimented her.

She turned to me with her eyebrows raised slightly and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. After a moment, a small grin formed on her lips. She then turned her whole body towards me before speaking, "Yeah, maybe."

I crossed my arms, "You mean definitely?"

"Hm," she mirrored me by folding her arms as well, "You're just full of compliments tonight, aren't you?" She says with a slight smirk growing on her lips.

"Well I say it because it's true. You'd definitely be able to do modeling if you wanted," I stated.

She seemed to be allured to my confidence. For a moment, I saw a spark in her eyes, something I couldn't recognize.

"Noone's really told me that before," she said while taking a step towards me.

I grew bemused, "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I've never spoken about modeling really because I've always admired tattoos more, but...I'm quite flattered that you think that," she smiles before taking a few more steps towards me until we were just inches apart. My heart was racing at this point.

"Well...um...," I had trouble finding my words, "I'm...glad you think so."

Her smile widens, "You're too cute."

I wasn't sure how to take her compliment, but before I could react, she began to lean close towards me. Not even less than a second later, her lips were on mine. I was taken aback at first, but I quickly closed my eyes and began to kiss her back. Clara softly places her hand on my cheek as she deepened the kiss while I wrapped my arms around her lower back.

We began to kiss each other more passionately as she pressed me further into the wall I was leaned against. I felt her tongue brush against my lower lip almost as if she were asking permission to enter which I happily complied. I heard her moan beneath her lips and I could feel myself growing harder by the minute.

As for what felt like minutes passed, we were all over each other. Her hands started to slowly make their way down my bare chest and mine were preoccupied with pulling her bathing suit cover upwards.

"Woah," we hear a sudden voice as we immediately pull away from each other and turn to see Sitara with her jaw dropped to the floor.

* * *

 **Uh, oh! Looks like they got caught! What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out!**


	10. Chapter 9: The Decision

**(Clara's P.O.V.)**

Time seemed to stop right then and there. Aiden and I were completely getting lost in one another. My hands were practically messing up his hair as I passionately kissed him. I had to admit that I was getting a little carried away, but Aiden didn't seem to care and only kept up with me.

I almost couldn't remember how we got like this and I wasn't sure why I suddenly kissed him, but I didn't really care. All I knew was that I loved the feeling of his lips on mine and the way his hands roamed my back. I didn't want it to stop.

"Woah," I jumped back upon hearing a sudden voice coming from a few feet away from us. I turn to see Sitara with a set of damp towels in her hands and her jaw was dropped open. "Damn, Clara, look at you gettin' at it."

My cheeks grew red and I was immediately embarrassed that she had seen us. She makes her way towards the railing and sets the towels on top.

"I'm just gonna set these here," she then turned to us, "Also, if you two are gonna like...you know, then please don't do it here. Do it after you leave...please."

I was blushing so hard, my face had to have looked like a tomato by now. My God, could she make this situation any worse?

"Sitara, w-we weren't..."

"I'm just gonna go. I'll leave you two alone," she waves us off before quickly stepping back inside and closing the door. Before she left, I could see her through the glass giving me a thumbs up and a wink.

I sighed and rolled my eyes before turning back to Aiden who was trying to catch his breath.

"Uh..." I tried to think of something to say."

"That was..."

"Yeah...," I muttered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to jump on you like that."

I watched him nervously as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "It's okay."

And then there was an awkward silence. We were both unsure as to what to say to each other. I just kissed him for Christ's sake! Why did I do that? Maybe it was the heat of the moment. Regardless, I had to say something. The silence was unbearable.

"Look, Aiden, you're...a good guy and as you can tell...I really like you. I don't know if you're into the whole dating thing, but last year...I got out of a bad relationship and I'm just not sure if...," but before I could say anything else, he stopped me.

"Clara, it's okay," he said softly, which did manage to soothe me just a little bit. "I'm not gonna rush you into anything. If you want to go out, that's fine with me, but I'll let you think about it. How does that sound?"

I was taken aback upon hearing what he had just said. I expected him to not really say anything at all and stand there awkwardly, but he actually seemed to be...understanding. After a moment, I quirked my lips up into a smirk.

"Alright. I'll think on it," I said before making my way up to him and planting a kiss on his cheek. "And Aiden, thank you."

I could see a small tint of pink appear on his cheeks and I thought it was the cutest thing. Soon after, I went back inside and once I went downstairs, I saw Sitara cleaning up the kitchen. I quickly thought back to what she said to me and Aiden earlier. My face grew heated at the thought.

"You done making out with Aiden?" She says without looking at me while putting plastic cups and paper plates in the trash. I could see a hidden grin on her face and I crossed my arms.

"You didn't have to embarrass me, Sitara," I huffed.

She chuckled. "I wasn't trying to. I had to set the wet towels out there, and plus, I needed to give you two a quick PSA just in case you two got carried away. You'll thank me later on, since I prevented you from getting pregnant."

"Sitara!" Now my face was really heating up.

She threw her head back and started laughing, "I'm just fucking with you, Clara! Come on, help me clean up and we can talk about it. I won't tease you, I promise."

"You better not," I say, my accent sounding firm. I then made my way to the kitchen.

"Sooo," she tosses me a cloth to wipe off the counter, "Are you two...a thing now?"

I sigh before I began to clean, "Not quite."

"Did you reject him?"

"No. I told him I'd think about dating."

"Why would you do that? He seems like a good guy."

I thought back to what I said to Aiden about my previous relationship, which also led me to think about _that asshole_.

"I just...I don't want to jump into a relationship where...I think I know someone, but they turn out to be the opposite of who I thought they were."

Sitara seemed to take in what I said before replying, "I hear you. Maybe I should take your advice and slow it down with guys just a bit. Focus more on my future."

"Well you're good at looking ahead and you haven't dated anyone since last year. I think you're doing fine."

"Pfft, yeah and then you just wait for me to fall for the next smelly dude."

I laugh, knowing all too well that what she said about their stench was true, but in a way I felt kind of bad. She's looking for a good guy and it's pretty obvious that Marcus really likes her. I would try and set her up with him, but I don't want to make her lose focus on her future and plus, she's already dealt with enough men. We both have.

After cleaning and having some more conversations with Sitara, I eventually left. On my way home, I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss I shared with Aiden. I thought about the way he touched me, the way his lips felt against mine. Damn, if I kept daydreaming at this rate, I might crash my car.

Regardless of how it felt, I needed to think more on taking the next step with him. I don't want to jump into a relationship without thinking like I did last time. I want to take things slow and I hope that Aiden is patient. I'm not sure when I'll give him an answer, but I hope to come to one after a week.

Once I get home, I get a call from my mom asking me her usual questions about how my day was. I told her about the party at Sitara's place, but of course, I didn't mention the kiss. She then told me about her day and how much work she had to do. I honestly hope that she is doing well at her new job. I know my mom works hard to keep a roof over our heads and I've always appreciated that.

Once we said our I love you's and goodbyes,I made sure to lock the doors before putting on my pajamas and getting my myself into bed. As much as I tried to go to sleep, that kiss was stuck in my head. I truly am hoping that Aiden isn't upset with me about my decision. I had to admit that I've come to really like him over a matter of weeks and already we had our lips on each other.

I'm not exactly sure what draws me to him. Either it's his bad boy attitude whenever he gets defensive towards Defalt, or his sweet and soft side that he shows sometimes when we talk to each other. Maybe it's a bit of both. Regardless, I needed to think things through before committing myself to a relationship again.


End file.
